I love Carlin, but I think I'd have to go with Cosby. His standup was funny, his shows were funny, and I recently picked up one of his books and, spoiler warning, it was funny. Carlin was very much an adult comedian and liked to push the envelope. Cosby managed to keep it tame, allowing adults and their children to love his work. Ultimately he managed to make more diverse groups of people laugh and that makes him a better comedian.

Since he just asked about the best comidian in the last sentence, I am just gonna ignore the stand-up part and show you the best comedian of all time. Hope you guys don't mind german, but there are subtitles.

Both are legends in their own right, but my vote goes to Carlin. The man embodies what good humor is about. It's about breaking boundaries. It's about challenging are perspective on life. It's about having a good time. Carlin wins for this reason.

George Carlin without a doubt. And your choice is weird. You should have said Carlin is the best, and then choose the second best between some other two comedians...Carlin doesn't have a competition.And why Cobsy, I mean he's great, but next to Eddie Murphy, Eddie Izzard, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey (not necessarily in that order), and many aforementioned comedians...I personally think of Chris Rock before Cosby...but that's just me.

I think it's kind of funny how people keep saying we "forgot" to mention this or that comedian in our debate. When you debate with only two options, it's not "forgetting," it's "excluding." Just a point of clarity there. :)

ShinobiJedi42:I would contend that Steve Martin is the greatest comedian of all time... He is a talented musician, writer, actor, comedian, and all around great guy. Carlin can't even touch Steve Martin when it comes to being a Renaissance Man...

While I think it might be a bit outside the parameters of this debate, Steve Martin is definitely a strong contender for best all-around talented guy. He's won various awards for his music, and done a ton of writing. And to really blow your mind, he came up with the idea for, and produced, the movie "Traitor" (staring Don Cheadle). Kind of makes me wonder what else he's done that isn't immediately apparent.

My first thought when I saw the subject was George Carlin. I was worried at the beginning of the episode when I saw the Seinfeld DVD. He's good, but not in the same league. I have to admit, Cosby is clear choice. As soon as you said that, I had to admit that it was far closer than I would have thought. Cosby just had so long on the Cosby Show and commercials that a lot of people don't remember his stand-up days.

I'm glad someone mentioned Bill Hicks. He might have been better than either, but he died tragically too soon. If the debate is best "ever," you really have to show some longevity. Hicks never got the chance to prove he could entertain generations. And the world is a sadder place because of that.

InTheEnd:Since he just asked about the best comidian in the last sentence, I am just gonna ignore the stand-up part and show you the best comedian of all time. Hope you guys don't mind german, but there are subtitles.

Germans have a strange sense of humour.

between this and schlager musik they should just stick to making cars ;P

Carlin of the two, but that's not to say Cosby isn't wearing a crown of comedy as well. But for the more recent entries, I'd go Louis C.K., Christopher Titus, maybe throw in some Jim Gaffigan and Lewis Black.

I'm gonna go with Carlin on this one. He's the kind of guy that always makes me laugh somehow, no matter what he says. He was very intelligent, and intelligent humor is the best kind if you ask me.

After that, I'm gonna go with Bill Hicks. The "calm and well-paced asshole" routine was brilliant, and he truly meant every word he said while also making a point. On the negative side:While I can't say anything bad about the guy, he's got a really obnoxious fanbase. They make him come across like god's holy gift to the universe, and like the guy invented every single joke out there and everyone ripped him off after that. And if you speak against that, you are automatically wrong and probably likes Dane Cook.While I can agree with this, I think they're making too big a deal of it. Yes, I know Denis Leary stole quite a bit of his jokes for the No Cure for Cancer special. I still laughed my ass off at it. The Hicks fans still make him come off as the devil incarnate for that.

But whatever. Hicks and Carlin were awesome, and it's a shame they're gone. Then again, I wonder what they'd think if they saw today's society.

Out of those, Carlin. Personally I like Jimmy Carr more than basically anybody else. Recently Cracked did an article on stand up comedians putting down hecklers and it only had american comedians, which is despicable considering we have this...

ShinobiJedi42:I would contend that Steve Martin is the greatest comedian of all time... He is a talented musician, writer, actor, comedian, and all around great guy. Carlin can't even touch Steve Martin when it comes to being a Renaissance Man...

While I think it might be a bit outside the parameters of this debate, Steve Martin is definitely a strong contender for best all-around talented guy. He's won various awards for his music, and done a ton of writing. And to really blow your mind, he came up with the idea for, and produced, the movie "Traitor" (staring Don Cheadle). Kind of makes me wonder what else he's done that isn't immediately apparent.

I can understand that. Steve Martin is most known for his acting and writing than his stand-up. But I have three of his four standup albums, so I am a bit biased lol. He also wrote Bowfinger, one of the most cleverly written comedies of all time.

Hicks wasn't actually that popular in the USA, especially when he was alive. He was huge in England though, something that his friends commented on in the documentary that they found really strange; to them he was just a guy playing shitty clubs to small audiences, then they'd see his UK DVDs and think "holy shit, he's a rock star to those people!"

Hicks wasn't actually that popular in the USA, especially when he was alive. He was huge in England though, something that his friends commented on in the documentary that they found really strange; to them he was just a guy playing shitty clubs to small audiences, then they'd see his UK DVDs and think "holy shit, he's a rock star to those people!"

Ah, well certainly I've seen his name brought up by quite a few Americans on here. Although now that you mention it, my old History teacher did say he thought he was hilarious.

He was my Idol growing up, and my parents let me watch him as young as 12 because my father felt I could learned something from his work, in addition to the laughs. I got married on June 21st 2008, the day before he died. I guess the Laws of equivilent exchange work in real life as well.

I'll miss you George. but I know that you are down there right now... screaming up at us. and I know you are in severe pain.

Hicks wasn't actually that popular in the USA, especially when he was alive. He was huge in England though, something that his friends commented on in the documentary that they found really strange; to them he was just a guy playing shitty clubs to small audiences, then they'd see his UK DVDs and think "holy shit, he's a rock star to those people!"

Ah, well certainly I've seen his name brought up by quite a few Americans on here. Although now that you mention it, my old History teacher did say he thought he was hilarious.

He was popular with more than just history teachers. Observe my mad copy-paste-from-Wikipedia skills!

On February 25, 2004, British MP Stephen Pound tabled an early day motion titled "Anniversary of the Death of Bill Hicks" (EDM 678 of the 2003-04 session), the text of which reads:

That this House notes with sadness the 10th anniversary of the death of Bill Hicks, on 26th February 1994, at the age of 33 [sic]; recalls his assertion that his words would be a bullet in the heart of consumerism, capitalism and the American Dream; and mourns the passing of one of the few people who may be mentioned as being worth [sic] of inclusion with Lenny Bruce in any list of unflinching and painfully honest political philosophers.[41]